BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has upheld North Dakota's Depression-era anti-corporate farming law. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck ruled Friday that the law meets constitutional requirements.

North Dakota Farm Bureau sued in 2016 to do away with the law that voters approved in 1932 to protect the state's family farming heritage. The Farm Bureau and other plaintiffs argued the law limits farmers' business options and interferes with interstate commerce by barring out-of-state corporations from being involved in North Dakota's farm industry.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota Farmers Union and the Dakota Resource Council disputed that in their defense of the law. Farmers Union maintains that family farming is the backbone of North Dakota agriculture. The group led the fight to create the corporate farming law in the 1930s.

BISMARCK, N.D. - State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler is seeking applicants for two openings on the North Dakota Board of Higher Education.

The board oversees the North Dakota University System, which includes six four-year universities and five two-year colleges. The board has eight voting members. Two of those positions are coming open on July 1, 2019. Both carry four-year terms.

Board of Higher Education applicants must complete an application form, and provide a resume and no more than six letters of recommendation. Application materials are due at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21. Late applications will not be accepted.

"Serving on the Board of Higher Education is one of the most prestigious appointments that our state has to offer," Baesler said. "North Dakotans who seek to become members of the Board of Higher Education are doing a great public service."

Baesler is chairwoman of a state committee that nominates Board of Higher Education applicants. The committee must provide Gov. Doug Burgum with three recommended candidates for each of the two openings. Burgum will then choose his favored nominee from each group. The governor's nominations are subject to confirmation by the North Dakota Senate during the 2019 Legislature.

Completed forms should be emailed to Baesler's executive assistant, Patty Carmichael, at pcarmichaelnd.gov, or mailed to the State Superintendent, Department of Public Instruction, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 201, Bismarck, N.D., 58505.

Nick Hacker, of Bismarck, and Greg Stemen, of Oakes, now hold the two board seats that are coming open next year. Both men are eligible for reappointment to new four-year terms on the board.

Seven of the Board of Higher Education's eight voting members are appointed by the governor for four-year terms. The eighth is a North Dakota University System student, who is appointed for one year. In addition, the board has nonvoting members that represent university system faculty and staff.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - More than two dozen projects in North Dakota are sharing in $3 million in federal money aimed at promoting specialty crops.

North Dakota gets money from the federal government to dole out as grants to boost the production and processing of crops such as dry peas, dry beans, lentils and potatoes. The state is among the nation's leaders in producing those crops.

The state Agriculture Department received 42 applications this year. A committee reviewed them, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring approved 25 and forwarded them to the federal Agriculture Department for final approval.

Grant recipients include North Dakota State University, the National Sunflower Association, the Northern Pulse Growers Association, the Dakota Prairies Resource Conservation and Development Council, and the National Agriculture Genotyping Center.

MINOT, ND - Norsk Hostfest officials say it has recently come to their attention that several other websites, not associated with Høstfest, are selling overpriced concert tickets. Høstfest organizers urge people to visit hostfest.com or call 701-852-2368 to buy tickets in order to not be overcharged or scammed. Official Norsk Høstfest tickets are only sold for $67, $87 and $100 plus tax and fees. This year's festival will be September 26th - 29th.